Reasons NOT to be CRNA

I'm a student nurse in a BSN program in florida. I heard about CRNAs shortly after I decided to purse a nursing career. I thought I had my mind set on being a CRNA. However, so far in school, I'm not doing as well as I thought I would in the classroom. Compared to my classmates, I'm about average, but I had a high GPA before nursing school and I do well on standardized tests, so I know I can do well on the GRE. My performance in the classroom, along with other things has discouraged me from wanting to be a CRNA someday because I feel that maybe I'm not good enough to be competitive. I also feel like some other niches in nursing may be a better fit and more interesting for me. My point and question is, I'm not even sure if I want to CRNA because I've heard alot of good things, but nothing bad about it. Now I would like someone to educate me on woes of a CRNA/SNRA. I just want an honest opinion of both sides of the fence from people who have been there and done that. Not too much to ask right?

why do you need to hear bad things about the CRNA profession?? to make yourself feel better? if you are not doing as well in your classes as you thought you would, just accept that and try to do everything in your power to achieve what you need in order to become a CRNA. this is just the beginning. you have a long road ahead of you in order to complete your career milestones. be patient and don't beat yourself up. you'll get there.

Oct 29, '06

you have an interest in becoming a crna? i had a strong passion for it many years ago and followed my dreams. i have no regrets what so ever. i have been a crna since 1979. yes the road is hard and requires a strong investment in time and money.

it is worth it 100% to make the transition. the work, the hours, and especially the income make the effort wothy of your time and dedication.

marc

Oct 29, '06

You should shadow a couple crnas and determine for yourself if you think there are any drawbacks to becoming a crna. There is probably a reason noone has told you any negative aspects to becoming a crna: besides the money, time, and work it takes to get through school, there arent that many.

Oct 29, '06

CRNA is an advanced practice role for nurses. I am not a CRNA, but am a CNS (another APN role).

I agree with others that prior to choosing an APN role, you need some type of experience as an RN and then some shadowing time with a CRNA. It would be a real drag to go through all the work of getting into CRNA school and then you decide it is not for you.

To be honest, you need some RN experience before deciding on an APN role. Otherwise, you do risk the possibility of being "locked into" one role over the other.

To MSPCRNA - just curious, what is your educational background? The military? A couple of years ago while working in the ER, I had the good fortune to meet a wonderful nurse who was a CRNA who had her training during the Vietnam era - she was absolutely someone who I really admired and did a great job too. What impressed me most was that she was a nurse first, then a CRNA. I think CRNA's bring to the playing field more than just anesthesia, they are nurses too!

Oct 29, '06

Quote from angel337

why do you need to hear bad things about the CRNA profession?? to make yourself feel better? if you are not doing as well in your classes as you thought you would, just accept that and try to do everything in your power to achieve what you need in order to become a CRNA. this is just the beginning. you have a long road ahead of you in order to complete your career milestones. be patient and don't beat yourself up. you'll get there.

I don't need to hear bad things about the CRNA profession. I don't need to feel better (I don't understand where you were coming from with this). All I want is other people's opinion on the other side of the fence. Of course, it really has no bearing on my own opinion, which matters most to me. If people think there are no drawbacks, then there are no drawbacks for them. It's just that simple. Hey, if you love your job, you love your job. And I'm not worried in the least bit about becoming a CRNA now, I'm worried about becoming a good R.N. All I'm asking is, what DON'T CRNAs like about their job.

Oct 29, '06

Quote from Lionheart

I don't need to hear bad things about the CRNA profession. I don't need to feel better (I don't understand where you were coming from with this). All I want is other people's opinion on the other side of the fence. Of course, it really has no bearing on my own opinion, which matters most to me. If people think there are no drawbacks, then there are no drawbacks for them. It's just that simple. Hey, if you love your job, you love your job. And I'm not worried in the least bit about becoming a CRNA now, I'm worried about becoming a good R.N. All I'm asking is, what DON'T CRNAs like about their job.

what i meant by my post was to encourage you not to be discouraged, because i got the impression that if you heard bad things about the crna profession you might feel that maybe it's not worth striving for. especially after you mentioned that you were not doing as well academically as you wanted to. the sky is the limit. you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Oct 29, '06

ALOT more goes into picking a canidate for CRNA school than just GPA...trust me! Do your best...take some classes to boost your GPA, and really do well on your GRE's. Also, as a side note, schools love to see you accomplish some intro grad classes to see if you can handle graduate work.
Best of luck.

TraumaRus, I like your point about being a NURSE, not just a specialized nurse.

Brian

Oct 29, '06

Though I'm not a CRNA (yet!) can I assume that the day-to-day business operations (i.e. billing, dealing w/ Medicare, etc) can be a bit of a drag- as they'd be for any medical specialty? Granted, most CRNAs probably work in groups so maybe they never have to deal with that too much. I have a parent who was a private practice physician and I know a LOT of time was spent with the above items.

ApaisRN - you are right. However, most APN's have a much higher stress level than a staff nurse.

Oct 29, '06

Hi,
Although I am not a CRNA, I have worked in PACU for over 12 years in a variety of settings from outpt to high acuity level 1 trauma centers, and I am amazed at the number of new nurses who want to "become CRNA's" without knowing anything about the field. It isn't for everyone, yet it seems that there is a trend for fairly new nurses to "get their year of ICU experience " just to get into CRNA school. I also think you should work in a PACU, preop, or OR area as a nurse to see if it is for you. Surgeons can be extremely arrogant ( especially to the anesthesiologist and anesthetist), the stress can be high and it takes a certain personality type to handle it. The liability is great... when things go wrong they can go dreadfully wrong. I really think that new nurses should work in the perioperative area before contemplating a CRNA program.
Lisa